An unusual figure has been making the news headlines and attracting plenty of attention on social media over the last few days.
Thor the walrus who first turned up in Scarborough, where the town's council cancelled a New Year's Eve fireworks display in case it upset the sea creature, later delighted onlookers when he arrived unexpectedly at Blyth's South Harbour, as reported by ChronicleLive. You can read the full story here.
The story sparks memories of another popular aquatic visitor to our region - Freddie the dolphin, who became a regular sight in the late 1980s and early '90s at Amble, just up the Northumberland coast from Blyth. The first reports of a shy dolphin swimming off the coastal town surfaced in March, 1987. Then, as sightseers began to turn up, the bottle-nosed dolphin, quickly given the name Freddie, started to gain in confidence and began to put on public shows in the harbour.
